THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HOT JOCKEYS AT GOODWOOD They fanfare the flying Frankie Dettori, they make six Ryan Moore rides clear favourite, but who is the daddy of them all at Goodwood this week? Headlines on this Stewards’ Cup day:
🔹 GOODWOOD: MOORE MISSING STRIKE
🔹 TOMMY GUNS FOR THIRD SPRINT PLACE
🔹 THE LAW ACCORDING TO P J MCDONALD
🔹 GALWAY: MULLINS LANDS 8 WINNERS
🔹 PUT SHARK IN YOUR SHOPPING BASKET
THE CURRENT DAQMAN RECORDS
Daqman 53 Pricewise 26 (Daqman 274 points clear to 10pt stakes)
Bull’s-eye naps (6-12) 264 points up to recommended stakes
Supernaps (16-23) 98 points up to 20pt stakes
GOODWOOD: MOORE MISSING STRIKE
Missing strike. That’s what you call it when – whether you’re trainer or jockey – you miss the chance of a hit when it’s clearly given you and you only finish in a place. You’re on the oche, hitting the wire and missing the doubles.
Compare this week’s Goodwood returns for the three top jockeys and the fate of their clear favourites. In brackets, their strike rate (wins to runners) for the meeting, followed by their Goodwood returns, race by race.
You decide: who’s the daddy of them all, with a 20% strike rate? Who’s missing strike badly? So who do you want to be on today (see my Stewards Cup verdict below)?
P J McDONALD (4-20) 00114002030031010000 one losing favourite
FRANKIE DETTORI (3-17) 42110001302200433 two losing favourites
RYAN MOORE (1-23) 43042302200020103442420 five losing favourites
Trainers (3pts win, 2 second and 1 third Goodwood this week only): Mark Johnston 27, John Gosden 12, Richard Hannon 11, Aidan O’Brien 8, Clive Cox 7, Charles Hills 7, David O’Meara 7, David Simcock 6, Richard Fahey 6, Sir Michael Stoute 6, Roger Varian 6, John Quinn 6, Charlie Appleby 5, Paul Cole 5.
Jockeys P J McDonald 19, Frankie Dettori 18, Ryan Moore 18, Silvestre De Sousa 13, James Doyle 9, Franny Norton 9, Jamie Spencer 7, Tom Marquand 5, Jim Crowley 5, Oisin Murphy 5, Andrea Atzeni 4, Harry Bentley 4, Daniel Tudhope 4.
TOMMY GUNS FOR THIRD SPRINT PLACE
1.50 Goodwood (Stewards Sprint Consolation) Tommy G, second in 2017, is 4lb lower than when winning this last year, and Silvestre De Sousa returns to the saddle.
Count Otto was first home of the stands’-side group that day on his second start of the week. He tries the same again, having run here on Tuesday over a furlong shorter.
Puds is 122 at Goodwood in three starts since May but is worse off with old adversary Blue De Vega. My bets this morning were 12.0 Tommy G and Count Otto at 22.0 on BETDAQ.
2.25 Goodwood (Summer Handicap) Kings Advice is the key to unlocking the form. He won over today’s Goodwood CD in May and, though 10lb higher now, has since finished within a couple of lengths of the winner in the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle, his only blip, with seven wins from the last eight.
He is up 7lb from success back at his optimum trip at Newmarket in July, which tips the balance exactly that much for Outbox (sixth) to make up five lengths. That won’t be easy.
Desert Skyline has 6lb with which to claw back the three lengths King’s Advice beat him at the July Meeting. Again, that’s by no means certain, but David Elsworth is in better form now and 15.0 on BETDAQ looked big.
A turnaround of 18lb should enable Bartholomeu Dias to recoup the three lengths Kings Advice beat him at Wolverhampton in April, particularly as he’s turned the tables already, fourth when Kings Advice was sixth at Newcastle.
Bartholomeu Dias should also now hold Proschema (needs rain), the Northumberland Plate third, who is 4lb worse here, but will Dias reproduce this form on grass? He was behind Corgi (poor strike rate) at this Goodwood meeting a year ago.
A stablemate of King’s Advice, Charles Kingsley (7.0 BETDAQ), has not kept such good company but is improving and has some foot if Frankie Dettori can conserve it for when it matters.
THE LAW ACCORDING TO P J McDONALD
3.40 Goodwood (Stewards Cup) In big-field sprints this week, the 1-2-3 by stall have been 9-16-10, 12-6-11 and 14-13-9 and, in seven years out of 10, the winners of this Stewards Cup have come out of 19, 11, 18, 26, 22, 15 and 25; otherwise from the near rail (1 and 4).
Lake Volta in the one stall has finished close up in the Wokingham and the Bunbury Cup and, as so often with the winner of fast-run big-field sprints, brings 7f stamina to bear on the finish.
Third here last August and made all on the course in May from a Mark Johnston never-give-up ride by Joe Fanning down that near rail. I expect Gulliver to come at him from gate 5.
In the middle, I find that Flavius Titus has beaten one-paced types in his two wins this season – which have him 7lb higher now – including stablemate Spanish City, who has 8lb more than for his last success.
Air Raid is 6lb worse off with Lake Volta, though he beat that one little more than a length at Ayr in the Scottish Stewards Cup (soft ground).
I fancied Embour until I saw his penalty, and stablemate Buridan has won only in lower grade. Baron Bolt has been dropped a few pounds, and first-time blinkers might help. Khaadem is higher in the handicap than any three-year-old winner of this.
On the far side, Arecibo (Dettori) has been penalised for being beaten! Gunmetal (gate 24) is a strong finisher who ran well in the Wokingham but was down the field in this last season.
Three-year-olds have done well this week, and Cosmic Law (in 22) has jockey of the meeting P J McDonald up. He raced in the Pattern as a two-year-old and has gone well in recent handicaps, including one which has produced t wo winners of this. Stablemate George Bowen (25), fifth last year, has dropped a few pounds.
VERDICT: I see Lake Volta (BETDAQ 14.0) playing catch-me down the near rail. On the other side, Cosmic Law, huge at 36.0 under the jockey of the moment, P J Mcdonald.
GALWAY: MULLINS LANDS 8 WINNERS
3pts win, 2 second and 1 third Galway this week only
Trainers Willie Mullins 31 (eight winners), Joseph O’Brien 19, Jessica Harrington 14, Dermot Weld 12, Gordon Elliott 11, Aidan O’Brien 11, Charles Byrnes 8, Emmett Mullins 8, Tony Martin 6, Matthew J Smith 6, Thomas Mullins 6, Gavin Cromwell 5, Denis Gerard Hogan 5, Henry de Bromhead 4, J Larkin 4.
Jockeys Paul Townend 15, Donnacha O’Brien 14, Shane Foley 12, Colin Keane 11, W J Lee 10, David Mullins 8, Robbie Power 8, Davy Russell 8, Chris Hayes 8, J J Slevin 7, Derek O’Connor 6, Darragh O’Keeffe 4, Ronan Whelan 4, Robbie Colgan 4.
PUT SHARK IN YOUR SHOPPING BASKET
2.30 Galway (Shopping Centre Handicap Hurdle) Willie Mullins has won four of the last six and, with one exception in the decade, the race goes to horses below the age of seven. Willie has three of them, all cunningly placed down the weights!
The 3.5 BETDAQ favourite, Great White Shark has won three 2m-plus races in a row, since breaking his maiden over hurdles, including a Flat handicap here on Monday, comfortably.
The mare Contingency was to be kept to novice chases but was beaten only a head, unfancied at 25-1, in a Grade-B hurdle like this one, at Punchestown, albeit enjoying a big weights pull.
Willie’s third youngster, Eclat Des Mottes, hasn’t much experience but ran well at today’s trip, third at Killarney, giving weight to the first two.
Hearts Are Trumps (17.5 taken), out of a full sister to Denman, is one of SIX J P McManus runners; another one of them, Spades Are Trumps, trained by Gavin Cromwell, is inexperienced but fit and well, as you’d expect from a trainer in fine form.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.50 Goodwood (win 30, place 10)
BET 2.75pts win and 5pts place TOMMY GUN
BET 1.4pts win and 2.5pts place COUNT OTTO
2.25 Goodwood (win 30, place 10)
BET 5pts win and place CHARLES KINGSLEY
BET 2pts win and 3pts place DESERT SKYLINE
3.00 Goodwood (win 20)
BET 5.5pts win SOUTH SEA PEARL
2.30 Galway (win 30, place 10)
BET 12pts win (nap) GREAT WHITE SHARK
BET 1.75pts win and 4pts place HEARTS ARE TRUMPS
2.40 Newmarket (win 20)
BET 4.4pts win MIA DIVA
3.40 Goodwood (bull’s-eye to win 50, 10 place)
BET 3.75pts win LAKE VOLTA
BET 1.4pts win and place COSMIC LAW
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